A Long Trip to Accordo
by Shiary
Summary: The storm had appeared out of nowhere, sweeping Regis overboard before anyone could react. Now stranded on Angelgard, the Prince of Lucis must survive the night on the island of Astral Judgement. Hopefully the old prison still stands and could provide him with shelter. Inspired by the Ardyn DLC trailer.
1. Chapter 1

Regis was soaked to the bones. The cold rain added insult to injury as he forced himself to climb the stairs leading to where the old prison was said to exist. Hopefully if it existed, it would be in good enough shape that Regis could use it to get out of the storm. The roar of thunder grew louder the closer he got to said prison, making Regis shiver for a very different reason as he finally laid eyes on it.

There were countless stories about this island within the Royal Library of the Citadel. Stories that told of judgement and death, of prisoners being brought here from the time of Solheim to be judged by the Astrals themselves. Few were those who survived the judgement and fewer still were the ones who returned unchanged by the experience. A particularly loud clap of thunder startled Regis, its lightning striking close enough that it blinded him.

Forgetting the possible death and judgement that might be waiting for him within the prison, Regis shoves the door open, slamming it shut behind him and tries to blink away the sparks from his eyes. It takes several long seconds before his sight returns to him.

The prison is much smaller than he expected, he barely has enough space to extend his arm completely before it touches another wall. Perhaps that had been part of the punishment?He quickly realized he had been wrong as his eyes got used to the dim lighting. It was a wall but it did not spam the full length of the prison.

Ragis kept his hand on the firm stone as he slowly followed it until he reached the small opening it left. Beyond it laid another room of sorts, benches carved of the same stone as the walls allowed for a bit more comfort and there was a small sized opening further up that allowed the light from the lightning to reach into the prison.

It wasn't enough light for Regis' tastes, not with the possibility of daemons appearing from the shadows. He called forth fire to his palm and used it to illuminated as much of the room as he could. The benches would not make for comfortable beds but it was better than the freezing floor. Remembering the stories about judgement being passed upon those who came to the prison, Regis cleared his throat and quickly offered a prayer to the astrals.

"Honored Astrals, I thank thee for the safety of these walls. I offer myself for your judgement in hopes of being found worthy of your blessings." He said in as clear a voice as he could manage among the storm. He waited for a few seconds, half hoping for some kind of answer from the guardians of Eos.

Something shifted. Metal brushed against metal. Regis swirled around, fire held high and sword appearing in his other hand. There was nothing in the room that would explain the noises.

Regis frowned, had he imagined it? No. The sounds happened again, softer and barely heard by the prince but he had heard them. "Is someone there? Can you hear me?" He called out, hoping to provoke the noises again and pinpoint its source.

There! It came from beyond the back wall. Regis pushed his ear against the cold stone, shivering as his wet clothes sapped his warmth. The thunder and the thickness of the wall made it hard to hear clearly but Regis was certain something, or perhaps someone, was moving beyond it.

Was it a daemon? An animal perhaps? Or maybe… Regis glanced upwards at the small window like opening. There was really only one way to find out. He changed his grip on his sword and threw it, grinning as it bit into the wall right above the opening.

He warped upwards, allowing the shift to extinguish the flames as he gripped the hilt of his sword and scramble to find the edge of the opening with his feet. He swore as his dripping clothes just made the whole thing that much more difficult. As he finally stabilized himself, Regis peeked past the wall and into… Another room?

The lack of light made it almost impossible to determine what was within it but there was definitely another room. How odd, Regis thought as he checked behind him, there had been no door or any other entry point except for this small opening. He turned his attention back to this new discovery.

There was another window like opening on the opposite wall of the room but once again, the nighttime and storm made for poor lighting. What he did glean was painting a worrying picture. Chains hung from the walls, pulled taunt by something in the center of the room. Something alive, if Regis' instinct held true.

"Hello?" He called out again. The reaction was quite obvious now that he could see at least part of what was happening. There was a small, weak ripple of movement that originated from the unseen section of the room and… Regis tensed, body moving before his mind could catch up fully to what he had heard.

Regis warped into the room, as close as he dared to the sound of pain he had heard. It was still too dark to make anything distinct out but there was a vague humanoid shape, painfully thin. "I have no idea if you can understand me but I'm going to make some light now. You may want to close your eyes." He warns, waiting a few heartbeats before relighting his palm.

Its worse than he expected. Regis barely has time to glimpse a pair of exhausted amber eyes before the man jerks away from the flames violently. Regis swears as he flings his hand as far as he can and tries to calm the poor man down. "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you." He winces as he takes in the sheer amount of cruelty that was being inflicted on the poor soul.

The chains were imbedded into his flesh, obviously had been for a while as it had healed around the entry points. His mouth had been sewn shut with some kind of metallic thread. Regus barely refrained from summoning the few Royal Arms at his disposal in order to free the man immediately. No one deserved such cruel torture. No one,

Instead he remembered the lessons Weskham and Clarus had insisted he take, the ones about dealing with injuries of all kinds in almost any situation. If he remembered correctly, taking out any imbedded object could do more harm than good. Regis started to hissed angrily but stopped as the man flinched at the sound. Okay, there would be time to be angry later, right now his priority had to be helping this poor man.

Regis walked around the man, carefully planning how to get him free without causing any more pain, or the least amount possible under the circumstance. The best thing to do seemed to cut the chains as close to the poor man's body by heating one of his blades until it would pass through the metal like butter.

When Regis glanced back at the man's face, he was surprised to met his eyes. Exhausted as he seemed, the man appeared to be waiting for Regis to speak. "Can you understand what I'm saying?" Regis asked. The man frowned, obviously hearing what Regis was saying but did not understand.

Regis sighed. He took a step back, summoned his best fire-aligned sword and light it in one smooth movement. The man's eyes widen, first with overwhelming fear then with a glimmer of understanding. Regis met the man's gaze with what he hoped was a comforting confidence as he slowly approached.

He did not know what kind of horrors the man had suffered through but fire seemed to be a source of anxiety and fear. Regis had planned on cutting the chains closed to the man's body but that seemed like a bad idea now.

Confronted with the fear of a doubtlessly traumatized man, Regis did the only thing he could. He moved slowly, telegraphing his every action as he used one hand to grasp the chains and the other to cut through them. He talked, giving the man something to concentrate on during the whole thing.

The end result left more chain to drag on each injury than he'd like but, as Regis helped the poor man to his knees, at least the poor man was no longer hanging from his wrists. The man shivered violently even as he gave Regis a grateful nod, obviously thankful for the help, meager as it was. A shaking hand, thin and barely more than bones took to tracing letters into the dirt and dust in crusted floor. Regis leaned closer, curious to see what this poor man might be trying to communicate.

At first he couldn't understand what was being written, the letters making no sense to him. Then a word sprang out from the shaky message and Regis bit down a hiss as he suddenly understood why he'd had so much trouble. The man was using Old Lucian! Was he a scholar to know such an old language? But then why was he writing in it?

As Regis went over the scrawled message as second time, reading it as it was intended; blood drained from his already cold body. He turned, shocked by what had been communicated, to the emaciated man. "You're a Lucis Caelum?"

As if to confirm the truth, a crimson blade burst into reality beside the former prisoner. The man grabbed it, and in a rather nonchalant and yet shaky movement, sliced open the thread holding his mouth shut. Regis winced at the harsh and uncomfortable looking action.

The man opened his mouth, pearls of black liquid seeping from the cracked corners of his lips. The first sounds that came out sounded so painful that Regis automatically grabbed his water bottle and offered it to him. The man looked confused at the colourful plastic container which prompted Regis to show him how to open and drink from it. The man's second attempt to speak went much better.

"Ego autem Caelum et Lucii. Ardyn nomen, quod tibi amicum?" The former prisoner said, his voice hoarse from disuse. The man gave Regis a small, half seated bow, or tried to as the movement seemed to have caused him to reach the limits of his body. Regis was barely able to catch the man before he completely collapsed. The man was unconscious, shivering violently and there was a dark liquid dripping from his nose and eyes.

Regis swore, extinguishing the fire he'd kept going for lighting, and made a decision Weskham was going to get mad at him for. He destroyed the wall between both room. A blast of wind cleared the rumble away, back into the prison, and left Regis enough room to bring out the camping equipment he needed.

The sleeping bag were first, upon which Regis laid out the man carefully. He quickly brought out and applied an elixir and an antidote as precautions. The dark liquid seemed to stop flowing but the man remained unconscious. Regis used the opportunity to remove the rest of the chains still hanging from the anchors before tucking the man firmly within another sleeping bag.

As he set up the tent, Regis thought back to the words pronounced by the man. His Old Lucian wasn't the best but he thought it meant something along the lines of confirmation of lineage and a declaration of his own name. Ardyn. Regis thought the man might have been inquiring about something but he wasn't sure.

Ardyn. Ardyn Lucis Caelum, a possible relative that had been imprisoned who knows when in such a cruel manner. Regis shook his head sadly, he wasn't sure what to think about the whole thing. Hopefully the storm would pass by morning and Regis would be able to reach his companions for help and advice.

For now, he would do his best to grant this poor man a peaceful night's rest. Ardyn deserved that much, no matter what reason he might have for being in such a forsaken place.

A/N: What Ardyn says :I am of Caelum and Lucii. My name is Ardyn, what is yours friend?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: To make reading this chapter easier, Old Lucian will be in bold.

* * *

The night was long for Regis as he kept watch over the sleeping man. Small, painful cries told him of the nightmares plaguing Ardyn. He had tried to wake the man up with no success, and it made Regis feel powerless as each cry tore at his heart.

The storm outside continued for most of the night, only petering out as dawn rose. Between keeping a careful watch over his new family member- and wasn't that a slightly awkward thought for Regis, as it forced him to consider who the man's parents were- and trying to figure out how to contact his friends, Regis was exhausted and hungry.

As he reached into his armiger, intent on finding something to eat and some much needed coffee, a scream startled Regis, followed by Ardyn snapping upright.

Ardyn struggled against the bed roll. Frantically shaking his head from side to side, he kept repeating something in Old Lucian but it was said too quickly for Regis to understand.

Regis scrambled over to Ardyn, careful not to touch the injured and traumatized man as he tried to calm him down. " **Ardyn. You are safe. I won't hurt you. You are safe.** " The worried Prince kept repeating those words, carefully keeping his voice calm and soothing.

Ardyn started to calm down as Regis spoke but, as he finally managed to get the top of the bed roll, the sight of the hooks in his hands caused Ardyn to rip them out.

"No!" Regis shouted, hurling himself forward in an attempt to stop Ardyn from injuring himself further. He grabbed Ardyn's wrists as gently as he could without allowing him to slip out.

Regis glanced at the new injuries, expecting to see gapping, bleeding holes. His eyes widened as his mind caught up to what he was seeing.

There were no holes, only a thick black crumbling crust covering where the hooks had been.

Shocked, Regis' grasp slipped, allowing a panicked Ardyn to pull away.

Shit!

Before Regis could move past his shock, Ardyn had warped to the other side of the Temple and ripped the rest of the hooks out.

"Ardyn! _Shit._ " Regis fumbled to his feet. What should he do? Ardyn was hugging himself, trembling and scratching at his arms and face. Regis doubted he was fully aware of reality, not that he blamed the poor man.

How could he help Arryn without causing further harm? The last thing Regis wanted to do was to traumatize Ardyn more. He sent a plea to Carbuncle, the patron deity of children and the injured, before starting to speak as calmly as he could.

"Ardyn. Do you… Shit. How do I say that again?... **You are safe. We met last night. Do you remember?** " He kept a careful watch over Ardyn as he spoke. "Umm… **It was storming and I heard you. You are hurt. I just want to help.** "

Bit by bit, recognition returned to Ardyn's eyes. He stopped scratching himself, though he still hugged himself tightly. Regis offered a tentative smile. " **That's it. You're safe. I'm not going to hurt you. I apologize if I scared you earlier. Can I come closer?** "

Ardyn nodded tentatively. Regis took a small step forward, stopping as Ardyn flinched. Regis raised his hands slowly, palms open. " **That's okay. I won't move unless you give me the okay. I'm a bit worried about your injuries.** " Ardyn's eyes flickered away from Regis, down towards his arms.

Regis nodded slowly. " **That's right. Can you tell me if anything is bleeding? And how badly?** " He would create an elixir if he had to but without knowing how bad the injuries were, it would be dangerous to give Ardyn anything.

Ardyn leaned against the wall as he slowly uncrossed his arms. He held his arms up, eyes flickering across his arms and then to his torso. Regis winced as the wet-looking bandages were unrolled and dropped to the ground.

" **My injuries…. How?** " Ardyn staggered and slid down the wall, still staring at his arms.

"Ardyn?" Regis called out carefully.

The man raised his eyes to meet Regis'. Utter confusion and fear warred within the golden eyes. He spent moments searching through Regis' face for something. Something that he was scared of, as Ardyn's shoulders slowly slumped down after a while.

Regis didn't move, his own gaze going towards Ardyn's arms. He frowned. Shook his head. Looked again. Then firmly put what he saw in his growing _Things To Ask About Later_ list.

Spontaneous healing, without the use of potions, was not something Regis had seen before.

"Ardyn?" Regis said softly once more. He was glad to see recognition and understanding in Ardyn's eyes. A smile allowed him to approach Ardyn with carefully measured steps. A soft question got Regis permission to gently check Ardyn for any remaining injury.

There were none.

Only scars, huge and pale, remained in their place. Ardyn looked as shocked as Regis was, which begged for more than a few questions. But the questions could wait until they were somewhere safer.

Regis smiled wryly as stomachs growled, both his and his new companion's. "Let's eat, shall we?" Regis gestured towards the dimming fire before repeating himself in hopefully passable Old Lucian. Ardyn inched slowly towards the fire, apprehension written all over his face. Regis pointedly ignored it, focusing on finding and grabbing something they could eat from the supplies stored in his armiger.

Cup noodles seemed like the easiest thing. With some coffee, of course. Then Regis glanced at Ardyn and added some of his spare clothes to what he needed to grab. The rags Ardyn wore were fit to be burnt and nothing more.

Ardyn flinched as Regis summoned them into Eos, before frowning thoughtfully as Regis apologized profusely. Hesitantly, Ardyn accepted the clothes though it took some help from Regis for him to put them on properly. Ardyn slowly started asking questions while Regis cooked. Well, more like waited for some water to boil, so he could add it to the noodles and the instant coffee.

Regis kept his voice calm and soft, once again burying the anger that rose everytime Ardyn flinched to deal with another time, as he answered the questions as completely as he could.

Where were they? On Angelgard, an island off the coast of Lucis.

Who was Regis? A traveler from Insomnia, swept overboard by a storm while heading to Accordo.

Why could he use the Crystal's magic? Regis had hesitated before answering. With a short bow, he introduced himself as a prince of the Lucis Caelum line.

Ardyn had flinched at that, clearly unsure of himself and of Regis' intentions. Intentions Regis hurried to clarify as being peaceful and non-threatening. He refused to ask Ardyn any questions about his imprisonment or past. That was something to do once Wes was by his side to take notes and ask questions that Regis would forget to ask.

There were so many things that didn't add up about Ardyn. Obvious things such as his imprisonment on the Island, his casual use of the Armiger the previous night, and his usage of Old Lucian. As well as less obvious things such as the way he kept touching his new clothes with wonder or his surprise at tasting the coffee.

Regis watched with fond amusement as Ardyn cradled the cup of black coffee as if it were a treasure. Still, as much as he would love to give Ardyn more time to savor the beverage, Regis needed to find a way to contact his friends and soon.

He had half expected them to show up by now, given Weskham's and Cid's uncanny ability to find him no matter where he was. But they hadn't, and Regis was starting to get worried. Had the boat sunk in the storm? Had they… Regis shook his head and got up.

He flashed a smile at Ardyn and explained, " **I need to find my friends. I will go to the beach and try to signal for someone to come**." Regis waited for a moment before gesturing to Ardyn, **"Do you wish to accompany me?** " Ardyn hesitated, his eyes going from Regis to the sun-filled entrance and back a few times before he downed what was left of his coffee and rose to his feet.

Regis smiled, gesturing once to send what was left of their breakfast back into the armiger, before heading out. Ardyn followed with hesitant steps. They stopped right at the entrance, Regis in the sun outside and Ardyn within the shadows of the Temple.

He waited as Ardyn hesitated, not pushing as Ardyn struggled with himself for several minutes before finally stepping through the doorway.

Regis waited as Ardyn flinched, curling up on himself as though expecting someone to appear and drag him back inside his prison.

He watched as Ardyn slowly uncurled, shoulders still tense and wary, when that didn't happen. And smiled as Ardyn turned to look at the Temple, then turned back to face Regis with tears in his eyes.

Regis waited as Ardyn tilted his head back, eyes closed, to enjoy the sun. And he made the solemn promise to track down the people responsible for Ardyn's pain and make them pay tenfold for it.

A familiar voice shifted his attention from Ardyn down to the half-hidden path leading to the beach. Shadows danced along the rocks as another familiar voice echoed upwards. Regis smiled.

He glanced back to Ardyn, head still tilted backwards to enjoy the sun, then moved towards the path. There, walking carefully up the path while checking every nook and cranny, were his friends. Clarus was the first to see Regis and his reaction was exactly what he'd expected.

"Regis!" Followed by a bone crushing hug as Clarus envelopment him in his arms.

Weskham tutted as he pushed Clarus off to check Regis for injuries. "Your Highness! I am very pleased to find you well. Are you injured?"

"Of course he ain't. Just like I said." Cid clasped him on the shoulder, rolling his eyes at Weskham. Then he caught sight of Ardyn. "And whose that?"

Regis chuckled as his friends all showed their worry in their own, unique way. Even Cor's silent nod said plenty on the relief the young warrior felt. As Cid moved past Regis, he introduced Ardyn to them. "Someone who was wrongly imprisoned, and tortured, within the Temple. He speaks Old Lucian, doesn't understand Modern Lucian, and.." Regis paused for a moment, debating whether to reveal the abilities of the man so soon before mentally shrugging.

He trusted every one of them. "...is apparently a Lucis Caelum." He ignored the incredulous looks he received. "His name is Ardyn." Said man had been wearily watching Regis interact with his friends. Regis motioned him closer with a confident smile. "He can use the Lucis Caelum magic, and I think I saw him use the Armiger last night."

Weskham took a sharp breath, eyes fixed on the approaching Ardyn. "What happened since you were swept overboard? I want all the details." He fixed his gaze on Regis.

The prince felt a shiver run down his spine. Weskham was going to wring out every last detail from him. Regis cleared his throat, "Can I tell you while we leave?"

Weskham nodded sharply once, stepped to the side and declared, " **After you Regis, Sir Ardyn.** "

Ardyn glanced over to Regis, who nodded comfortingly, before he followed Regis down the path to the beach. The comforting sight of the Royal Boat was a great relief.

* * *

Cid walked at the back of the group, keeping an eye on the Kid. Cor was darting from one side to the other of the path, clambering over boulders and rocks with a growing frown and tightening fist on his Katana.

He glanced at the others, slowing down until he was out of earshot. Cid turned to Cor and asked, "What's got ya panties in a bunch, Kid?" He ignored the glare as Cor dropped down to his side.

"Found some bodies. Not sure when they died but they were pretty badly burnt." Cor tapped his fingers against the hilt of his Katana.

Cid side-eyed the Kid. "That ain't what's bugging ya."

Cor hesitated then whispered, eyes narrowing on the back of the unknown man walking behind His Prince. "They were wearing Crownsguard uniforms."

Cid hissed out a sigh then clasped the Kid on the back. "Guess we'd better keep an eye on that 'Lucis Caelum' till we know more." Cor nodded firmly as Clarus bellowed for them to hurry up.

* * *

A/N: I ended up rewritting this chapter 5 times because I wasn't satisfied with it. Hope you all enjoy it!


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